.. with Playa Fever, but its fading. But before I allow you Doctors and Nurses to tend to me, allow me to introduce myself.

Im ChadBroChill, sometimes called Chad Bro, more often Chad, but usually Chris. I was first introduced to burning man about 5 years ago through a mate in a college course. Kept up with it during those years, and grew more and more interested. Last year, a friend of mine, 2 time burner, gave me the What/Where/When guide for 2012. I devoured it and the fever started. Finally, Twenty Thirteen, everything has fallen into(and out of) place for me. A new free year, that is going to be a lot of discovering myself. Free from a recent relationship, free of debt, and (mostly)respect and progession at work. I purchased the ticket, and my fever grew. I began reading as much as possible, i might spend as much time on eplaya as i will The Playa by the time its all done. Ive watched countless videos, and yet everyday I wake up thinking about it, trying to gather as much info as possible. Which brings me to a story id like to share. I have this coworker who is a very interesting character, hes 66 so he has a lot of great stories from his life. When i first asked him about Burning Man, about 3 months ago, he goes "ive been! I went TWICE!". "Awesome!" I said, "tell me about it!" for the next THREE-ish months, he tells me very short stories, information about it, how he got there, what he camped in. I asked his advice on things, shared with him some of my ideas and plans. It was nice to have someone to talk to in person, who has been. So quite literally, today, 2/28, I see him at work, i ask him more about opinions on my tent, he gave some helpful advice. But.... later on he comes up to me with a slight smirk on his face. I look at him laughing and say "Whats so funny" he pats me on the back as he walks by "well, chris, when i told you before that i went to burning man twice, i lied, i never went" ................................. ....... I was floored. I still am. Like WHY would you LIE about going, and for that long! Tell me info like you've been, give me advice like you've been. Get me even more excited about it. And then tell me you were lying about it the whole time!?!?! Like What the FRICK! I have been beyond excited thinking about burning man, wanting to expierence a life changing event. I want this year to be filled with challenge and change, and burning man will be THE turning point for me. So for someone with whom ive shared this excitement to, comes out and tells me that BS. You are a grown man. Sure I lie about stupid shit, im 25, not 66. I broke up with a longterm gf because of lies. Im pissed, i feel stupid, I feel my fever fading... So i come here, finally, posting for the first time, after months of roaming. To share me, to share my feelings and thoughts, with hopes that I can talk to people who have REALLY BEEN TO BURNING MAN.... I need some medication, begin the rehab

"If seven maids with seven mopsSwept it for half a year.Do you suppose," the Walrus said,"That they could get it clear?""I doubt it," said the Carpenter,And shed a bitter tear.

Ouch!! Maybe it was a figment of his own imagination and he was genuinely living via your excitement... Who knows why he would do that... Bah humbug.

Any who, welcome Chad. At least your made your way here, keep in mind you will find snark here: not necessarily lies. Continue to read up on things and prepare for a great burn. Keep in mind only you can make any situation a bad experience. If you are looking for more local info, since the cross country trip adds a little extra fun in getting to the playa look into the Philly regional group as well as some of the events that are going on. Frost Burn just happened in Western PA. PDF and PEX are coming up in a few months and are very burner friendly events to check out.

It'll probably be fine.

Illuminate. Navigate. Celebrate.What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?

Wow, your co-worker is insane! Watch out for that one, 'til you know how deep the Crazy goes.

My second piece of advice, maybe slightly less obvious . . . don't allow ePlaya to make or break your faith in an event you haven't attended yet. That's a lot to ask of us. We can be a crotchety bunch at times. Trust instead that you can recover from the weirdness that life throws at you.

There's a lot of knowledge here. If you're looking for answers, Google a keyword of your choice + eplaya and then More results from eplaya.burningman.org » and you'll see how much info there really is. If you get really, really stuck, we've got answers.

And most of us are even who we say we are . . . or at least introduce ourselves in the dust with the same nickname in consecutive years, which is really as much as anyone can ask.

Some of us are even MORE than we say we are. Simon has like . . . 9 sockpuppets.

Welcome to the board!

*** 2016 Survival Guide ***"I must've lost it when I was twerking at the trash fence." -- BBadger

Thank ya for the kind welcome. I've searched these forms high and low. And have found many answers to questions I've already had. I'm thankfully to be aware of the local burnish events. I plan on pex since it falls after my bday. Nice gift to myself?! I look forward to meeting all the crazys on here. Good or bad. It's the Internet. Everyone is tough behind a keyboard.

"If seven maids with seven mopsSwept it for half a year.Do you suppose," the Walrus said,"That they could get it clear?""I doubt it," said the Carpenter,And shed a bitter tear.

Welcome Chris! Don't allow the crazy person put your fire out! As you read, take some notes, so you can refer back to the thread. Use the search bar, read the everything on the Burningman website! Reading you say your think about it when you wake up is a good sign.

Sometimes I'm confused by what I think is really obvious. But what I think is really obvious obviously isn't obvious.

I hope to god that story is true. Instead of a deterrent, that should be extra motivation. That is an amazing story. The only way you can improve upon it is if you actually go and experience live in person crazy shit. The someday you can relay this entire story to your grandkids around the gas fireplace in your suburban home and they'll listen politely then, when you nod off in your rocker, they'll all whisper.....real quiet like....shhhhh

Good point. It should be motivation. It is motivation. I think now I will return with some playa dust, and literally rub it in his face!!! I can only hope to be that crazy grandfather, cause I say the same things about my grandfather even now. He has the best stories and I learned that anything can be fixed with duck tape thanks to him

"If seven maids with seven mopsSwept it for half a year.Do you suppose," the Walrus said,"That they could get it clear?""I doubt it," said the Carpenter,And shed a bitter tear.

Yes! Just remember PEX is a lot fancier than the playa (I actually stayed in a cabin there and we had showers with hot running water)... We did also have lots of squatters bc there was a terrible storm that killed a bunch of tents and knocked out power just before we got there. The pool was nice to have and the meal hall... Word of advice, don't buy the meal plan - just pay as you go... And pack bug spray. (Not to drift the convo, but be sure to join the PEX group on FB if you haven't)

Duck tape is always nice to have on hand.

Illuminate. Navigate. Celebrate.What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?

Running hot water? Meal plan?! Sounds more like going to a camp, rather than camping. Although a pool is always nice.

It's on a camp site... So yeah. We had to remind the total virgin with us that the playa was nothing like this. We even had MOOP bags, but there were rubbish bins everywhere.

Fleshlight and duck tape... I'm not sure how much more I want to know.

I bring my Canon (not a 5d althought I know folks that bring em)... Keep lens changes to a minimum and you should be fine. I should probably take mine in for a cleaning, but it has help up well. I keep in in a lil' drawstring bag in my backpack (to minimize carrying space) and a p/s waterproof for random shots when I don't feel like pulling out the DSLR.

@ASquared ... My birthday on playa was a trying experience, if we meet at the MnG (or you come by Lamplighters Village for happy hour/to volunteer) I can go into detail. Some people would have left the playa after leaving Rampart, but I stuck it out and with some booze, pain meds and an emergency appt. when I got back to NYC I was 'fine'... I'm glad I didn't let one asshole ruin my birthday or my burn.

Unless you're airlifted off the playa or Rampart/medics say you need to go to Reno keep in mind that it'll probably be fine.

Illuminate. Navigate. Celebrate.What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?

My 5D Mark II did okay but as mentioned minimize the lens changes. It got pretty dusty and I did end up with some more dust spots on my sensor but overall the camera is still very usable. It is actually a different challenge to use only one lens and take photos. I did bring a few camera bodies to give me a bit more lattitude on what I could shoot. My 5D mark II will make its third trip to Burning Man this year. I tend to keep a 24 -70 lens on it for multipurpose shooting, but I love long telephotos and the compression one gets with them.

Good to know. Honestly I'm not too worried about the camera. Photojournalists use it in war zones and beat the shit out of the camera and use it locations similar if not worse than black rock. I plan just bringing my 16-35 and 50 1.4(possibly upgrade to 1.2 before bm) I'm not big on telephoto lenses. I've always shot in a more journalistic style, not afraid to get close, be part of the action, but also shoot candids. I also plan on bringing my canon ae1 program and some rolls of film too.

"If seven maids with seven mopsSwept it for half a year.Do you suppose," the Walrus said,"That they could get it clear?""I doubt it," said the Carpenter,And shed a bitter tear.

ChadBroChill wrote:Good to know. Honestly I'm not too worried about the camera. Photojournalists use it in war zones and beat the shit out of the camera and use it locations similar if not worse than black rock. I plan just bringing my 16-35 and 50 1.4(possibly upgrade to 1.2 before bm) I'm not big on telephoto lenses. I've always shot in a more journalistic style, not afraid to get close, be part of the action, but also shoot candids. I also plan on bringing my canon ae1 program and some rolls of film too.

Well the dust in BRC is amazingly fine. I still have dust on the outside body that just won't come off, but it does give the camera body that "war zone" look. I like telephotos for the compression factor on some of the art work and background, and not so much for photographing people.

ChadBroChill wrote:Good to know. Honestly I'm not too worried about the camera. Photojournalists use it in war zones and beat the shit out of the camera and use it locations similar if not worse than black rock. I plan just bringing my 16-35 and 50 1.4(possibly upgrade to 1.2 before bm) I'm not big on telephoto lenses. I've always shot in a more journalistic style, not afraid to get close, be part of the action, but also shoot candids. I also plan on bringing my canon ae1 program and some rolls of film too.

Well the dust in BRC is amazingly fine. I still have dust on the outside body that just won't come off, but it does give the camera body that "war zone" look. I like telephotos for the compression factor on some of the art work and background, and not so much for photographing people.

Yes, it's really the baby powder fine quality of the dust (and the dust hanging in the air) that's the problem, not rough handling or terrain or anything like that. I had an ordinary Pentax that did fine for years with no dust issues and no particular care--I think it was really tightly constructed--but got dust in my Canon in 2010 on its third trip out there, despite greater precautions than I ever took with the Pentax. I use a waterproof model now.